Loev

This was a beautiful film about love, and the things that look like love but are a little different too. The cinematography is beautiful and the storytelling is rich and unique.

The characters have an emotional depth rarely seen in romantic movies. I found myself simultaneously rooting for them and also hesitantly accepting their flaws. These characters are human in the sense that they are inconsistent and strong and weak and bold and meek like so many humans are. Can't wait to watch it again.

In my opinion Director/writer Sudhanshu Saria has made a stunningly beautiful film of exotic beauty in almost every scene contrasting with a culture so fixated on its societal expectation and traditions that it wants the modern world around them but cannot enjoy it.

What I'm trying to say is Sahil, Alex, and Jai's friendship/romance/sexual desires cannot go any where because the ancient cultural demands won't allow this -- but the modern technical world is welcomed without the freedom of being that comes with it. There are scenes of such natural beauty that the men can only express themselves by enjoying the scenery together. The frustration level is high and at movies end the viewer sees what the friends really wanted.

I realize this is a complex take on this beautiful film but I had to express it because the story made me think what is the director trying to tell the viewer.

I was really curious about this movies but it didn't meet my expectations at all. The problem is that everything, except for the surprisingly good actors, is a problem. The pacing is all wrong, the plot doesn't really go anywhere and there are some sensitive issues that were handled frankly quite poorly.

This is a case where the film's format and style do not quite match the complications of its narrative. It could either have been this immersive, intimate portrait of two people never quite getting on the same boat, all while having this roadtrip... but it was bogged down by messier elements. Sudhansu Saria made a decent debut though, and actors Dhruv Ganesh, Shiv Pandit and Siddharth Menon were fantastic and magnetic on screen.

Sidenote: I am very devastated to learn about Dhruv

I saw Loev at a film festival in San Francisco. I couldn't believe how entertained I was. It felt like a fresh take on a love story where the intimate details of a relationship slowly unfolded in front of you. It felt so real, raw, and tender.

One of the things I liked most about Loev was the locations where it was filmed. I've never been to India, but it felt like a character in it's own right.